Long-lost orchid could vanish with stroke of a pen
Experts warn rare orchid is under threat as MEC approves development and limits buffer zone
ANDREW Hankey’s boots sink into the dry, burnt earth as he trudges up the ridge he knows so well. There are just a few steps to go until he can show off this little piece of unspoilt, urban paradise.
For Hankey, standing on the crest of a ridge, this is a place worth fighting for.
Eight years ago, the specialist horticulturalist at the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden in Roodepoort was on a routine inspection of the Roodekrans-Paardekraal ridge ecosystem here when he made floral history.
“I was just doing random inspections near our property and I saw this colourful little plant on the side of the road. I couldn’t identify it… there were no field guides for it.”
Hankey didn’t know it then, but he was the first person in 50 years to have encountered Brachycorythis conica subsp. Transvaalensis, an endemic wild orchid species last recorded in Gauteng in the 1950s.
“I sent it to an orchid expert in Mpumalanga. He came back jumping over the moon. They were about to publish a field guide of the orchid species of the northern provinces. And this species is so rare that none of the four authors had a photo. They were going to use a painting,” he smiles.
It is the only viable population of the critically endangered plant species left on earth. Still, Hankey is modest about his spectacular find, insisting he only rediscovered the enigmatic species, which remarkably has clung to life, scattered in the pristine protea woodland that dots the protected ridge ecosystem.
He worries about the future of the tiny, fragile population of plants that numbers no more than 100.
“They are talking about putting 3 000 housing units or putting 9 000 people in high-rise flats here,” he says, showing the portion of undisturbed land that Mogale City has received the provincial go-ahead to use for the huge housing development, Proteadal. “They’ll crush this place in no time.”
On July 2, Gauteng’s MEC for Economic and Rural Development, Lebogang Maile, granted Mogale City, and its developer, Tiamo Construction, conditional environmental authorisation for the controversial development. There has been widespread opposition to the project from environmental groups, government agencies and landowners.
In July last year, Maile’s department issued a negative Record of Decision for Proteadal. Mogale City and Tiamo appealed, revising their development plan. That, it seems, was good enough for Maile.
“The proposed activity is situated in a highly sensitive area, particularly the northern parts of the site,” Maile says in his decision.
“Due to specific sensitivi- ties regarding terrain (and) hydrological, faunal and floral aspects, only the sites in the south and south-eastern parts are approved for development. Of the total site, only 26 percent is permitted for development.”
Maile recognises that Proteadal would be situated on a highly sensitive receiving environment, the majority of which is designated as irreplaceable or an ecological support area, essential for the conservation of biodiversity in Gauteng, where critically endangered Red Data-listed species like the orchid have been discovered.
“Notwithstanding the above, merit for some development on the site does exist on the south- ern part of the site,” Maile says. It would contribute to “infill development” with adjacent areas bordering Robert Broom Drive.
But groups like the Proteadal Conservation Organisation (PCA) are concerned that Maile has required the developers to ensure there is a buffer zone of only 50m around the critically endangered orchid species.
It notes that his department’s guidelines for the conservation of threatened, Red Data-listed plant species like the orchid require a minimum buffer zone of 600m.
“The MEC has failed to apply his own internal plant policy guideline to what is arguably the most threatened plant species in the province. What does this mean for other threatened plants?”
The ridge ecosystem is a vital corridor for the movement of urban wildlife, including jackal, serval and antelope.
“It was classified as a critical biodiversity area and ecological support area under the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s conservation plans and should be protected from development.
“The greater Proteadal ecosystem supports an iconic pair of resident, breeding black eagles, living on the cliffs of the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden, who hunt along this ridge system. It provides habitat for numerous species that would otherwise be lost in urban environments.”
Maile believes there is enough protection for the orchid and other red-listed species. “A buffer zone of 50m must be placed around the redlisted plant community. No development must be allowed on the irreplaceable parts of the site, including the class 3 ridge system.”
For Hankey, who mooted the creation of an urban wildlife reserve nearly 10 years ago, it’s about safeguarding the ridge ecosystem for future generations.
“For those who say you can’t eat butterflies, that’s their opinion. I think everything has a right to life, to be protected.
“And just because it occurs in Gauteng doesn’t mean it has to be bulldozed and replaced. People think rare plants occur only in the (Western) Cape or that conservation starts at the gates of the Kruger National Park, but it’s right here in Gauteng, in our backyard.”
If Proteadal does go ahead, Wild Orchids Southern Africa fears the worst. It says Proteadal should be placed on hold indefinitely and the precautionary principle applied.
“Irrespective of the changes made to the initial development plan, the development as a whole has a high probability of causing the extinction of the last remaining known population of the endemic orchid species,” it says.
Little is known about the orchid’s population biology and the conservation status of its pollinator.
“This species went largely unnoticed for many years. The rediscovery at the same site sparked alarms for conservationists as the species was slipping close to extinction with little known about it.
“All the historical sites visited where the species were recorded have subsequently been developed or altered during the rapid expansion of Joburg and Pretoria, resulting in the extirpation of the species. It’s imperative that urgent and decisive action be taken to prevent South Africa from losing another spectacular orchid species.”
The SA National Biodiversity Institute, a government agency, says that “to zone this area for any other land use, knowing the site-specific attributes, would amount to poor urban planning and ignorance of ecological principles”.
But Green Environmental, the consultants for Mogale City and Tiamo, say the revised development plan represents an “amicable midway” between development and conservation.
“The ecological sensitivity of the site was taken into consideration. We’ve reduced the overall development footprint area and enlarged the green belt conservation area to conserve sensitive Red Data species and the orchid.”
Only botanical garden staff will be allowed to use the sensitive site. “This development will be more beneficial than no development and no management” of the site.
The Black Eagle Project notes that the revised layout plan “interrupts the open space required for the movement of animals and has significant impacts on the hunting space for the black eagles”.
Mogale City, which until 2009 threw its weight behind the creation of the wildlife reserve along the ridge system, believes Proteadal will “integrate communities”. Its plan is to link Mogale City to Lanseria. As Proteadal is adjacent to the R28 highway, it is part of the development corridor.
The municipality acknowledges it was investigating the concept of a wildlife reserve, but says “this was abandoned” because the land was strategically and logistically located.
Mogale City says it is socially and economically critical to integrate Krugersdorp with the Muldersdrift development node as the region is not geared to provide affordable housing for the lower ends of the market. This would stop the spread of informal settlements.
Belinda Cooper, head of the PCA, does not buy this. “The only valid argument Mogale City can use to develop Proteadal would be to show that Mogale’s need for the development of housing exceeds the province’s need to conserve an environmentally unique parcel of land for generations.”
The PCA intends to appeal against Maile’s decision.